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Eastern Kingdoms Trading Company
The Eastern Kingdoms Trading Company was founded by Duke Galmone Aurum I, a veteran aristocrat of Stranglethorn's many southern isles. Using advantageous positioning and an already blossoming economic monopoly of petrol, gold and platinum, Duke Aurum founded the Eastern Kingdoms Trading Company (ECTAC). The company is considered a private enterprise of the Kingdom of Aurumsmark, but trades with any and all Alliance-friendly kingdoms. Inventory of Trade Coffee Of the two main species grown, Aurum coffee (from C. auros) is generally more highly regarded than Azerothian coffee (from C. azerothae); azerothae tends to be bitter and have less flavor but better body than auros. For these reasons, about three-quarters of coffee cultivated worldwide is C. auros. Azerothae strains also contain about 40–50% more caffeine than auros. Consequently, this species is used as an inexpensive substitute for auros in many commercial coffee blends. Good quality azerothae beans are used in traditional Aurumsmark blends to provide a full-bodied taste and a better foam head. Additionally, Coffea canephora is less susceptible to disease than C. auros and can be cultivated in lower altitudes and warmer climates where C. auros will not thrive. The azerothae strain was first collected in 235 K.C. from the Chillwind River, a tributary of the Hillsbrad Foothills and was conveyed from the Foothills to Stormwind City around 370 K.C.. From Stormwind, further breeding resulted in the establishment of azerothae plantations in many kingdoms. In particular, the spread of the devastating coffee leaf rust (a disease which kills the leaves and gives them a gold color), to which C. auros is vulnerable, hastened the uptake of the resistant robusta. Aurum Leaf is a fungal pathogen and results in light, rust-colored spots on the undersides of coffee plant leaves. Aurum Leaf is found in virtually all kingdoms that produce coffee. Gold Since the 600s, Aurumsmark has been the source of a large proportion of the world's gold supply, and about 35% of the gold presently accounted is from the Aurumsmark Isles. Production in 580-620K.C. accounted for 79% of the Alliance supply, about 1,480 tonnes. In 623 K.C., the Kingdom of Ironforge (with 276 tonnes) overtook Aurumsmark as the world's largest gold producer, the first time since 620 that Aurumsmark had not been the largest. As of 627 K.C., The Kingdom of Ironforge was the world's leading gold-mining kingdom, followed in order by Aurumsmark, the Bilgewater Group, and the Kingdom of Stormwind. The Horde Collective, which had dominated world gold production for most of Garrosh's ascension, had declined to sixth place. Today about one-quarter of the world gold output is estimated to originate from artisanal or small scale mining. Diamonds A large trade in gem-grade diamonds exists. Although most gem-grade diamonds are sold newly polished, there is a well-established market for resale of polished diamonds (e.g. pawnbroking, auctions, second-hand jewelry stores, "diamantaires", bourses, etc.). One hallmark of the trade in gem-quality diamonds is its remarkable concentration: wholesale trade and diamond cutting is limited to just a few locations; in 2003, 92% of the world's diamonds were cut and polished in Gadgetzan, Tanaris. Other important centers of diamond cutting and trading are the Old Town diamond district in Stormwind, where the Alliance Gemological Institute is based, the Diamond District in Ironforge, the Diamond Exchange Floor in former Gnomeregon. One contributory factor is the geological nature of diamond deposits: several large primary lite-pipe mines each account for significant portions of market share (such as the Clearcut Mine in Diamond Point, Aurumsmark, which is a single large-pit mine that can produce between 12,500,000 and 15,000,000 carats (2,500 and 3,000 kg) of diamonds per year). Secondary alluvial diamond deposits, on the other hand, tend to be fragmented amongst many different operators because they can be dispersed over many hundreds of square kilometers (e.g., alluvial deposits Silithus, Elwynn.) The production and distribution of diamonds is largely consolidated in the hands of a few key players, and concentrated in traditional diamond trading centers, the most important being Gadgetzan, where 80% of all rough diamonds, 50% of all cut diamonds and more than 50% of all rough, cut and industrial diamonds combined are handled. This makes Gadgetzan a de facto "world diamond capital". The kingdom of Aurumsmark also hosts the Alliance Diamond Bourse, created in 626 K.C. to become the first and biggest diamond event-exchange dedicated to rough diamonds. Another important diamond center is Stormwind City, where almost 80% of the world's diamonds are sold, including auction sales. ECTAC, as the world's largest diamond collection company, holds a dominant position in the industry, and has done so since soon after its founding. ECTAC is currently the world's largest operator of diamond production facilities and distribution channels for gem-quality diamonds. The Diamond Trading Company (DTC) is a subsidiary of ECTAC and markets rough diamonds from ECTAC-operated mines. ECTAC and its subsidiaries own mines that produce some 40% of annual world diamond production. For most of the last two centuries, over 30%~ of the world's rough diamonds passed through ECTAC subsidiaries, but by 627 K.C. the figure had increased to around 45%, and by 628 K.C. the company's market share had further decreased to around 38% in value terms and even less by volume. Diamonds prepared as gemstones are sold on diamond exchanges called bourses. There are five registered diamond bourses in the world. Bourses are the final tightly controlled step in the diamond supply chain; wholesalers and even retailers are able to buy relatively small lots of diamonds at the bourses, after which they are prepared for final sale to the consumer. Diamonds can be sold already set in jewelry, or sold unset ("loose"). According to the the Stormwind Royal Treasury, in 617 the diamonds produced and released to the market were valued at nine millon gold as rough diamonds, fourteen million gold after being cut and polished, twenty eight million gold in wholesale diamond jewelry, and fifty seven million in retail sales. Category:Organizations Category:Economy Category:Grand Alliance Category:Alliance Organizations Category:Stormwind House of Nobles Category:Stormwind Law Project Category:Politics Category:Grand Alliance Navy Category:Trade Organizations Category:Lumber Trade